Coronavirus: Awaiting the messiah

Never in history has mankind so desperately awaited a Messiah so unanimous that the arrival will be acceptable to all, irrespective of religion nation creed or caste-- the Covid 19 vaccine messiah. Explanations and conspiracy theories abound for the pandemic, astrologers suggest the malevolent alignment of six planets or is it the ubiquitous cloud of 5G? China’s creation to gain global control?

A time-space warp has become the new-normal as life is put on hold, space has been constricted by lockdowns. Can this sci-fi dystopia get any worse? What if the internet now permanently crashed?

Far from feeling a drag of slow days that lack of socialization suggests, I find that time passes surprisingly rapidly--weekly duties of filling my pill-box and winding clocks come around very quickly, and the calendar page has already been flipped to October and monthly bills due again.

Surely, an avatar of Gabriel Marquez is writing "Love in the Time of Corona". The drastic reduction in traffic has enabled the corporation to undertake extensive smart city infrastructure. Hopefully, this means putting an end to repeated digging which results in obstacle courses rather than motorable roads.

As exercise is important for older people, walking is the most accessible form, as gyms and machines are beyond our capabilities. Though there are home exercise apps, have you tried huffing and puffing in one spot? Hazardous pavements make strolling outside one’s home impossible, not to mention the risk of traffic fumes. Bengaluru's glorious parks are therefore a boon, particularly for Senior Citizens (the latest on the endangered species list). Besides physical well-being, it is balm for the spirit being out of doors inhaling fresh air, under the generous spread of rain trees and ficus, hearing birdsong, enjoying the fragrance of frangipani and cork trees, and the varied colours of flowers.

Cubbon Park has less litter than Lal Bagh, but that is its only advantage. Lal Bagh has been closed permanently to all traffic since 1975, the order to close Cubbon Park two years ago was never implemented, and it has now been reopened to traffic. This park is intersected by several roads, and pollution and noise from incessant traffic make a mocker of “the city’s lung”. No surprises: who benefits most from using the park as a short-cut to get to Vidhana Soudha? Yet another blatant instance of politicians and bureaucrats flouting rules - sadly, no Messiah is capable of tackling that problem!